An applicant received an ITA (from a healthcare category-based draw) with their Express Entry profile set to expire shortly after. Their existing Police Certificate had become invalid because they'd travelled after it was issued, and a replacement PCC would take 3-4 weeks to arrive — longer than the time left on their EE profile. They were unsure whether to submit the PR application before the profile expired (without PCC in hand) or wait for the PCC and risk the profile lapsing first.
What the thread clarified:- Once you receive an ITA, your Express Entry profile locks and does not expire — the profile expiry date shown no longer puts your invitation at risk.
- Accepting the ITA creates a new application in your GCKey account, and you have 60 days from the ITA to submit the actual PR application (not 60 days from profile creation).
- You do not need to decline the ITA while waiting for your PCC. Multiple members confirmed there's no requirement to have your PCC in hand before the profile "expires," since profile expiry isn't a factor after ITA.
- If your PCC still isn't ready by the 60-day submission deadline, you can submit without it and instead attach the PCC application receipt as proof you've already applied — though you may still need to submit the actual certificate afterward via webform once it arrives.
Practical takeaway: don't panic about your Express Entry profile's listed expiry date once you have an ITA — it's locked. Focus instead on the 60-day submission deadline from the ITA itself, and if a document like PCC is delayed, submit your application with proof that it's been requested rather than waiting and risking the 60-day window.